Fiona McGier, EroticRomance Author

I just read that Tom Cruise's latest Mission Impossible movie is doing great at the box office. I wish I could be happier about having contributed to that. Son who is moving out for college soon really wanted to go to the local Drive-In movie theater, since we used to take our kids there a lot when they were younger. The second movie was Antman, and even though we've already seen that, we stayed for both movies. Hey, $10 for 2 first-run movies is a great deal!

Disclaimer: I don't really like Tom Cruise much, and family has to drag me to see his movies. He always stars in action movies, which is the preferred genre for all of us. But I can't ever take him seriously as a hero. Plus I'm a huge fan of the old Mission Impossible TV show, especially the little-known reboot of the 90s that still had Peter Graves as Mr. Phelps. But this time my whole family gave the movie a hearty "Meh." Husband and son complained that the entire plot was stolen from the first 3 seasons of Burn Notice, one of their favorite recent shows. I just thought it was kind of dull, and Tom Cruise didn't act so much as do extravagant stunts to flesh out his character.

I was pleased that the heroine wasn't just arm candy or a trophy to reward him for being so capable. She was a kick-ass spy in her own right. And there wasn't even a hint of romance between them, which is good since I don't find him at all attractive. Jeremy Renner was in the movie also, and that's who I would have preferred as the hero, especially if there was going to be any romancing done.

If you want to see a good action movie, go to see Antman. I thought the whole idea was lame, having a superhero that's the size of a bug. But the movie has humor along with action, pathos along with an implied romance. And Paul Rudd is convincing as a hero. My only quibble is that I want the sequel to involve Michael Douglas' daughter's story. Now that should be good!

And if you really want to see a good spy movie, find Melissa McCarthy's Spy playing somewhere. (Note: longer review below, under an earlier post.) Now THAT'S a great movie!